Is this balanced?

Hi, I have couple of questions. My current configuration is several guitars going into a 6 channel mixer than out from the mixer into another mixer (house PA).

I realize thanks to this site that my guitars should go into a DI box than to the mixer and each connection in the mixer should utilize balanced cables (right?)

My questions are as follows:

1) My ovation guitar has an XLR jack and the manual states "Any XLR cable with a ground-to-shell connection" can be used to utilize a balanced signal. Is the wiring detailed on this site a ground to shell?

2) Secondly, I have searched in vain for a volume pedal that will process a balanced signal. Reason being is that I'd like to control the overall volume from my mixer for all channels. Any suggestions or modifying a volume pedal or would I take the balanced out to a 1/4" unbalanced to go into the volume pedal, than the output (no unbalanced) into the DI again than out to the house PA? I'd prefer not to have to go back to the DI but if thats the only way I guess thats what I'll do.

3) I have a digitech preamp/processor I use for one of my guitars. It says on the "output section" of the sepcs that the connector is 1/4" TRS, Nominal level +4dBU, max level +18 dBU with an Impedance: 50 Ohms. When compared to the input (1/4" unbalanced TRS- Impedance = 470 kOHMs), so it sound like the outs are balanced or is there a way I can look at the connectors to see?

If I understand you correctly, you want to use a volume pedal to control the overall volume from your guitar submixer. If your mixer has them, I would use an insert on the mains. This would allow you to still keep a balanced connection between mixers. Your idea of coming out of the mixer to a pedal then to a DI then to the other mixer would work, but the more connections you have you become prone to having something fail. One thing to make sure of when doing all this, is to make sure your submixer is on the same power source as the house mixer. If not, you can easliy get a 60 cycle hum from the difference in potential on the ground.

An easy way to tell if a connection is balanced os by how many conductors you have per channel or source. 2=unbalanced and 3=balanced. So TRS is a balanced connection if it is only carrying one signal. If it is a stereo connection than TRS is unbalanced (2 hots and a common ground). Bur for your preamp, you have a balnced connection because it is only one signal.

If this does not clear your confusion, I can expand on all this. Hope it is helpful.

I believe I'll have to go the route of converting back to unbalanced for the purposes of the volume pedal since my mixer does not have an input on the mains.

As for the preamp, digitech says that the outputs are unbalanced TRS, but when I look at the unit I see connections where for the T/R would make contact. Is there any way I can see whether they are utilzing a balanced output using a multimeter? It contains a mono/L & Right output but I am confused as to why the'd use a TRS configuration when a standard 1/4" jack would yeild an unbalanced signal if that was their intent. My obvious hope is that the RP-12 rep didn't know and just took a guess.

On most TRS (Tip Ring Sleeve) connections there will conductors for just TS (Tip and Sleeve). This allows you to do either unbalanced or balanced. There is no harm in going unbalanced, except you open up the possibility for some interference from surrounding noise sources. Anyway, your output is balanced, but can also be unbalanced according to the type of cable your are putting in the jack.